


. . .And Happily Ever After

by zarabithia



Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: Gen, Murder as Revenge, Past Dick/Roy, renegade arc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-01-15
Updated: 2007-01-15
Packaged: 2019-05-19 22:33:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14882474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zarabithia/pseuds/zarabithia
Summary: In a world in which Dick never stopped being Renegade, Arsenal eventually decides that enough is enough and takes matters into her own hands..





	. . .And Happily Ever After

**Author's Note:**

> Italicized text denotes flashback. The trapeze scene is taken, nearly word for word, from Nightwing 126 and applied to a kid in Dick's life that _should_ actually matter. Other flashbacks are taken from "Five Father Days Lian Never Had."

_"Tell me a story, Uncle Dick."_  
"Once upon a time -"  
  
The air is cooler than normal for this time of year in the 'Haven and the protective material of Arsenal's costume does little to shield her from the biting wind as it seeks out the exposed flesh , sending a prickling sensation across the back of her neck and across her cheeks. Her gloves do little to guard from the sting of the cold rifle in her hands during her rooftop vigil.

But Lian is her father’s daughter, and she’s been playing with guns since she’d still been in the playpen.

 _"I guess I was wrong, Roy. All that worry over you introducing her to guns seems silly now. She’s turned out to be a great shot."  
"Well, she does take after _ her father _, Di. Would you expect anything else?"_

Despite the familiarity with weapons that she has known since childhood, Lian feels uneasy holding the rifle. She tells herself that many, many reasons are to blame, among them the exchange of her bright red suit for a stealthier black one that allows her to fade into the shadows with greater ease, or the fact that the weapon in her hands does not come from her collection and therefore cannot be expected to feel as much like an extension as her own do.

It is easier to believe those are the reasons, rather than to blame any lingering affection for her target.

 _"Do you want to try to watch some more TV? I have a_ Big Bear 2 _that has your name on it."_  
"I'm still sick, Uncle Dick. I don't want to throw up on the living room floor. I'm too old for that."  
"Okay. We'll just wait here, then, until your insides start to feel better."  
"What if they start to feel worse?"  
"I'll be here with you, either way."

Rain mixes with the increasing wind, slapping against her ears with the fierceness of sparring sessions with Aunt Grace. Each intake of breath through her nose assaults her sinuses with the bitter precipitation, causing her head to throb with an ache she ignores.

Lian wishes the target would hurry up, though the sound of the church bell chiming from three streets away tells her that she has plenty of waiting left to do. The target, after all, is right on schedule, and it is only her own nerves and discomfort that tell her otherwise.

She grits her teeth, and tells herself it will be worth it in the end.

_"You’ve got to stop, Roy. Think of Lian. What if something happens to you?"_  
"Not everyone gives up on people as easily as you do, Ollie. "  
"This isn’t about giving up. This is about you escaping with your life!"  
"He won’t -"  
"Son, I know you’ve been through a lot together, but this obsession with Grayson isn’t healthy. And he’s not the boy you grew up with anymore." 

Her father has been accused of being obsessed over Dick Grayson for many years now. A whisper here, an angry shout there; The Outsiders retorts and The Titans’ questions, neither of which are ever answered. Aunt Donna says that isn’t true, that Roy never got over his feelings because he’s still in love with the man Renegade used to be.

_"You own the whole circus? All of it?"_  
"Yep. The whole entire thing."  
"That means we can visit anytime, right?"  
"Any time you want. Just say the word." 

Lian doesn’t have much use for Aunt Donna’s theory. People fall out of love every day. They don’t keep hanging on, and if they do, it’s only out of some fucked up sense of obligation that shouldn’t have anything to do with _love_. If her father had loved Dick Grayson, he would have let him go once the man he fell in love with turned out to be a sociopath assassin, bent on following Slade Wilson’s beck and call.

Her father had, after all, fallen out of love with her mother for similar reasons.

 _"I’m so proud of the woman you’ve become. Strong, independent, Titan Leader and a damn good hero."_  
"And sane. Let’s not forget sane, Dad. Because we both now that wasn’t too likely, given one half of my DNA."  
"Both halves, I suppose. But yes, you managed to stay away from the poisons that plagued the rest of us. I don’t know how you turned out so well, but I’m glad, Etai Yazi _."_

Since the day Dick Grayson had walked out of their lives, her father had led The Outsiders, and her father's own obsession had brought them here, in this city contaminated by both crime and stench after "Nightwing" abandoned it. Having grown up here, she should be used to it, the city that smells worse than the one her Aunt Dinah lives in, and most days Lian is accustomed to it.

But the rooftop she stands on is a mere nine stories from one of ‘Haven’s many overflowing dumpsters. The stench seems inescapable, as Dick Grayson’s six a.m. wake up is hours ahead of the trash pickup. The air is so foul that it makes it difficult to breathe, and that, combined with the less than optimal weather conditions make her eyes burn beneath their attempts to water.

Arsenal ignores the bad weather conditions, checks her scope, and thinks of the Dick Grayson who would be proud of her diligence.

_"Ow. I thought this was supposed to be fun, Uncle Dick."_  
"It is fun, but only if you do it right. Let’s try one more time, okay?"  
"But maybe Aunt Dinah was right. Maybe I am too little to try the ‘peeze."  
"Nah. You just had a slow start. Watch me, then do exactly what I do, otherwise you’ll keep hitting the net like a ton of bricks."  
" ‘Kay. I guess so."  
"Come on, Dart. We can do this. You trust me, don’t you?"  
" ‘Course." 

Lian hasn’t trusted Renegade in a very long time.

The church bells chime again, and Arsenal watches the light come on in Grayson’s cheap little apartment. Brushing aside the question of whether the digs are years worth of Batman stealth rearing their head in the one time protégé or the more manipulative designs of Deathstroke that linger even when the oldest Wilson is a continent away, Arsenal notices the hesitant caress of the pillow beside Grayson and wonders if he has ever missed her father the way he misses his wife on the morning that will be his last.

 _" **He** did this, didn’t he? **He** almost killed you."  
"If he wanted to kill me_ , Etai Yazi _, I’d be dead."_

Her father would never understand why she is here, or why she’s doing this. She wonders if Aunt Dinah would. She knows Grandpa Ollie would. And judging by the sixth bullet wound to her father’s chest, she supposes Renegade would.

_"Tell me a story, Uncle Dick."  
"Once upon a time -"_

There’s a knot in her stomach, but Lian ignores it. She glances into her scope, waiting for just the right moment.

_"- there lived a beautiful princess named Lian -"_

He’s awfully slow this morning, and a stray sun ray peeks out from behind a rain cloud, trying to be yet another distraction to her aim. Fortunately, Lian’s been playing with guns since she was barely old enough to walk.

_"And princess Lian lived with two handsome knights who loved her very much."_

Like her father, Lian had hoped that the man who had loved them would find his way back. But unlike her father, Lian’s want had been driven by love, not obsession.

There was someone she loved far more than Dick Grayson, and Renegade would never get a chance to hurt him again.

He’d been allowed to do so for far too long.

_"And Sir Nightwing the Brave and Sir Arsenal the Gallant swore to protect Lian every day for the rest of their lives."_

__Renegade walks through the bathroom door, bathed in light; Arsenal pulls her trigger and watches Dick Grayson fall to the ground. Perfect aim. Like father, like daughter. In the thing that matters most.

She feels a pang in her chest, and chalks it up to knowing that her father will grieve his loss. But at least this way, he’ll be able to mourn and move on, something Renegade never allowed them to do.

 _"Although Princess Lian was a fair and noble ruler and was herself quite strong, having been taught the ways of the warrior from her Queenly Aunts and Princely Uncles -"_  
  
Besides, even her grief-stricken father will have to admit that Renegade falling in battle was inevitable. The Wilsons have developed an impressive number of enemies over the years.

Arsenal cleans her weapon of evidence, leaves the weapon on the rooftop, and goes to join the man waiting on her at the bottom of the building.

 _"Sometimes Lian needed help. Then Sir Nightwing and Sir Arsenal came to her rescue."_  
  
"Is it taken care of?" Arsenal demands from her accomplice.

"Yes. She was a worthy opponent."

"Did it involve a lot of pain?’

" . . . Yes."

"Good."

 _"Dragons, Trolls, and Evil Wizards were no match for the knights of Princess Lian. And under their bravery and Princess Lian’s fair and just rule, the kingdom did prosper and grow."_  
  
"You do know Deathstroke himself will be coming for you?"

"He’ll have to get back from his hunting expedition first. And. . .Contingency plans are in place." Privately, Lian welcomes the confrontation. Deathstroke has been allowed to go far too long without being checked. It’s far past time to put a stop to that. No more apprentices. No more acrobats falling so hard.

 _"You mean, they lived happily ever after, right, Uncle Dick?_  
  
"I don’t know whether to call you foolish or brave, Arsenal."

"You don’t have to call me either. But I thank you for your help."

"Is it not what family is for, Sister? To help one another?"

"Yeah, CC. That’s exactly what family is for." Lian spares the apartment building one more glance as she answers. It is with great irritation that Arsenal wipes the precipitation out of her eyes. She's never liked rain much. Too much desert-brat in her blood.

_"Of course they lived happily ever after."_  



End file.
